Call
by Evantis
Summary: Cloud was sent to war. Leon stayed home. As much as they both try, nothing's the same. Not just time and separation is trying to tear the two apart. [LeonCloud]


This is a Kingdom Hearts fic, though it does contain characters from FFVII and FFVIII. Most of them are minor roles, but the main two characters are Cloud and Leon. The story is told from their point of view for the most part, but occasionally it's from Zack and Sephiroth's point of view.

The title of the story is _Call_, obviously. Is it too short? O.O or just plain weird? I don't know. The whole story revolves around the topic of how Cloud can't call Leon, so I just titled the story _Call_. If you have any, please comment! Is it really too short? If it is, please tell me – and I'll keep in mind to title my fics with longer names next time! .

This is my very first Kingdom Hearts fic! So try not to flame. But I'll take advice! I'm not expecting many reviews, but I really appreciate if you review! Really, really will!

This is a oneshot, so there's only one chapter. This fic took me about a week to write. 24 pages, font size 7, font type Verdana. Big pain on my fingers, y'know! And I had to add italics so many times I got kinda irritated…X))) I got the idea of Cloud and Leon being separated from a story where two lovers were separated by time. Haha, no particular relevance except the word 'separation', I know – but, hey – worked out for me. XD

Summary: _Cloud was sent to war. Leon stayed home. As much as they both try, nothing's the same. Not just time and separation is trying to tear the two apart. LeonCloud_

That's the summary. Cloud's sent to war, but Leon is stuck home. I'll give you several details first, so that the story becomes clearer, as the entire plot of it is not really told until somewhere in the middle-ish end. Cloud was sent on an assignment, which succeeded, but the entire force was ambushed, so they are left in some rural area with no way to communicate. Which means Cloud can't even tell Leon he's alive. Meanwhile, our brunette at home starts to angst and think to himself – is Cloud dead, or has he forgotten?

Please read, enjoy and review!

-

Call

-

"_You'll be home soon, right?"_

"_Yeah. You won't forget me, will you?"_

"_How could I? I won't."_

"_It's a promise?"_

"_It's a promise."_

* * *

It was two years ago. 

"Squall, why do you want to meet up to discuss the project?"

"That's Leon," Leon sourly said.

"Jeez, you know your name," Rinoa Heartily(1) stood before him, hands on her waist in an imposing manner. For a young woman of her type, she was rather the determined sort.

"Friday," Leon said, staring out of the window.

Rinoa looked at him incredulously. "_What?_"

Leon was getting irritated. "Friday. We'll discuss the project on Friday."

Rinoa shrugged. "Whatever you say. I'll see in you the school library, okay?"

Leon absently nodded, making a mental note of the matter. He supposed he had to be grateful that he have Rinoa as a partner for this Science project – at least he didn't have to initiate the meetings.

"Hey, Leon!"

His little brother, Sora, burst into _his_ classroom, and pressed his face close to Leon's. Annoyed, the bigger brunette pushed him away. From the corner of his eye he could already see Sora's best friend and secret boyfriend, Riku, sauntering into the room.

No respect for seniors at all.

"What do you want?" Leon demanded.

"Two bucks," Sora jabbed a two-finger sign in his face.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"I want to buy a drink," Sora announced. Leon could feel his classmates staring at him, but he did his valiant best to ignore it and keep his mind away from thoughts of the humiliation that would follow. "I've run out of cash. Mom forgot my allowance this week," Sora explained.

Sighing, Leon rummaged through his bag, and found his wallet. He swiped two bucks out, and shoved it into Sora's hand, praying he would get out as fast as possible.

"Here," he said, characteristically looking out of the window again. "Don't bother me anymore."

Sora left, and he concentrated as much as he could on a tall tree that had outgrown the rest. His mobile phone sat on the table next to his elbow, and he patiently waited.

And waited.

But deep down inside, he knew it was never going to be rung by the person he wanted.

-

"Cadet Strife! Bring me Cadet Strife!" Maleficient(2) screeched.

Cloud winced, and stumbled out of his hiding place behind the large oak. "Y-yes, m-ma'am?"

Maleficient pushed forward another soldier, who was considerably burlier than Cloud. "Did you push Cadet Jones into the river, Strife?"

Cloud cringed at the shrill, commanding voice, and shook his head fervently. "No, ma'am."

"Lieutenant Fair!" Maleficient yelled, and Zachary Fair3, the second-in-command, emerged from his tent. He looked dishevelled – a clear sign of his participation in the chaotic morning of the camp. His usually bright eyes were puffy, dull and tired – his movements lethargic and weary. He shot Maleficient an unpleasant glance.

"Maleficient, unlike most of the others on this camp, you have nothing to do," Lieutenant Fair said acidly. "But I have been up since two this morning trying to fix the damn telecommunications device, and now you want me to settle some disciplinary dispute? I have far more important things to do – including a mountain of paperwork from the General, if you don't mind."

"You will keep a more watchful eye on Cadet Strife," Maleficient said, unfazed. "He shoved Cadet Jones into the river, and must be appropriately punished. Lieutenant, you are the head of discipline as well. I suggest you take care of this matter properly, or I shall report you to Mr Shinra4."

The lieutenant seemed annoyed, but glanced at Cloud. "This way, Cadet. Jones, go dry yourself in the bathroom, and see me at my office this evening at six."

"Yes, sir," Jones saluted.

"Strife," the lieutenant called.

Cloud nimbly ran over, trying hard not to look at Maleficient. He whimpered softly to himself as he passed the towering, frightening beast of a woman, and dashed after the Lieutenant.

The second-in-command walked back into his camp, and Cloud promptly followed. He mentally prepared himself for the reprimand that would surely come.

Lieutenant Fair eased himself into a chair behind his desk, and gestured for Cloud to sit on a chair on the opposite side of the desk.

Cloud squirmed in his seat, and his feet shuffled nervously. His hands trembled violently, and the world seemed to be swaying. He plastered his hands to his lap, so that the lieutenant could not see how badly his hands were shaking. He forced himself to stare at the chipping end of the table, and ignore the lieutenant's scrutinizing gaze.

Finally, the other sighed.

"Cloud, this is the second time in a week."

Cloud shivered. "I'm sorry, s-sir."

"Cloud," there was a warning edge to the voice now.

"I'm sorry…Zack," Cloud whispered the name as minimally audible as possible.

"Maleficient doesn't like you," Zack said quietly. "You should know that by now. She's always looking for an opportunity to get you into trouble. I can't always spring you, Cloud. People will start to notice, and they might remove me from my position, and place you under a sterner officer. Even Sephiroth5 himself has a hard time controlling Maleficient."

"I'm really sorry," Cloud spluttered, shutting his eyes instinctively in terror. He lowered his head more.

He tried to ignore the obvious sound of movement, as Zack slid out of his chair, and stood at Cloud's side.

"Your hands are shaking," Zack noted aloud.

Cloud shook his head in useless contrary.

It wasn't long before the small blonde felt strong, muscular arms wrap themselves around his thin frame. Zack's breath blew on Cloud's neck, making him shudder. A large, calloused hand stroked his spiky hair soothingly.

"I'm sorry, Cloud," Zack whispered, his words soft and kindly. "I didn't mean to scare you. You've been through enough."

Cloud shut his eyes, and buried his face into Zack's collarbone.

"We're deprived of everything here, Cloud," Zack murmured. "But I promise you – we'll find a way back home."

-

Leon finished his homework in two hours. He sat in the deafening silence of his empty and deserted house. His parents were out working, Sora was at Riku's. As usual, his mobile phone sat patiently and on standby by his elbow.

He wondered why he was still waiting.

It had been two years, hadn't it?

Two solid years since he heard from Cloud Strife.

The rest of the Strife family – Cloud's parents and his younger brother, Roxas, who was about Sora's age – had left for another town after hearing some news. News that they didn't share with anyone, even their closest friends – the Leonhart family. Not even to Leon, Cloud's best friend. Though Leon never publicly exposed it, he was desperately infatuated with the lithe blonde.

And with bitter irony, it was the feminine, gentle and sweet Cloud who was violently packed off in a jeep and sent to the army. It was skinny and lithe Cloud who was made to fight for Hollow Bastion, against an alliance of two other countries. It was Cloud who was stuck in the savage and aggressive battle. It was Cloud who had to run around with a ten-kilogram knapsack, and with grenades hanging off his belt, and a rifle in his hands. It was Cloud who had been taken away from his home.

Leon had always been the bigger one. He was a full head taller than Cloud, and significantly more muscular, though he was almost just as lean as the blonde. Despite that, he was usually stony-faced, and displayed little emotion and care in anyone except Cloud's presence. He did not feel faint at the sight of blood like Cloud, and he did not furiously object to violence and brutality like Cloud did. He was not a pacifist like Cloud.

And yet it was Cloud who went to the army.

Cloud who risked his life for Hollow Bastion.

At first they were still in contact. Cloud tried to communicate with Leon whenever he could. But the schedule of a simple cadet in a monstrously large army was still very packed. Cloud found little time to speak with Leon. It was always Cloud who made the phone calls, not Leon. The telephone number to reach the camp was a secret one.

Cloud used to call every night, for one month ongoing. After that, it was once in two days. A fortnight later, it was once in five days. Another month later, it proceeded as once a month. After three months of three phone calls, the time between each call was stretched to the maximum. After that year, Cloud never called again.

Leon could still vividly remember the final phone call. The conversation was a short one, but it was still something Leon cherished – a period of five minutes or so that would remain in his heart forever, etched deep and carved in.

-

"_Leon? Is that you?"_

"_Cloud?"_

"_Yeah, it's me!"_

"_You haven't called in ages."_

"_I'm really sorry, Leon – but they recently had this new training programme. Apparently we're going to go on some assignment next month, so we need intensive training. Mostly shooting, and lots of lessons on survival tactics and stuff like that. I'm really, really sorry, Leon."_

"_I was worried about you."_

"_I was worried about you, too. I kept wondering if you were doing okay. Oh, yeah – Merry Christmas! It's a little early, but the mission brief is tomorrow. After that will be preparations, and I might not be able to phone you until the assignment is over."_

"_Are you going somewhere?"_

"_Yeah, we're leaving Hollow Bastion."_

_**I was scared.**_

"_To where?"_

"_Wutai5, I think."_

_**Scared for what might happen.**_

"_They can't send you there!"_

"_They can, Leon! I've been training for almost a year. We're following General Sephiroth and his second-in-command to take out one of the biggest bases in Wutai."_

"This_ is the assignment you're talking about?"_

_**Scared that you would get killed.**_

_"Don't be worried, Leon. It's nothing life threatening. Half of the army is going. General Sephiroth is in charge. General Sephiroth! Can you imagine that?"_

_"Who cares about Sephiroth! You might get killed!"_

**_I might lose you._**

_"Everything will be fine, Leon."_

_"It won't."_

**_I might never see you again._**

_"You shouldn't even be in the army in the first place."_

_"We've talked about this many times before, Leon. Really, Leon. I'll be fine."_

**_Never hear your laughter._**

_"You promise?"_

_"Yes, I promise."_

**_Never feel your presence._**

_"Alright, then. Take care of yourself, okay?"_

_"I will, Leon."_

**_Never see your smile._**

_"Call back soon, okay?"_

_"Okay. And Leon?"_

_"Yeah?"_

**_Come back._**

_"Even if I don't call you back in a month's time, maybe two, or even three – or even in a year's time – you won't forget me, will you?"_

_"As if."_

**_Come back to me._**

_"You won't…give up on me, will you?"_

_"I promise I won't."_

_"Thanks, Leon."_

**_Come back to me, please._**

_"Take care. Really good care."_

_"I will. I have to go now. Bye, Leon!"_

_"Goodbye, Cloud."_

**_I love you._**

**-**

Cloud coughed in the ravaged remains of his tent. He had managed to save the few of his belongings when the next ambush came. Most of his uniforms were gone – only the one he was wearing one other set had been saved. But both were the rough-wearing type – the smart ones were burned. He had lost his one other spare set of boots. His thin mattress was shrivelled and crisp black.

He desperately clutched a small black haversack to his chest. It contained the belongings he saved first. They were memories of home – his photos, his books and several other little odd objects.

"Cloud!" a familiar voice sounded, and relief washed over the blonde.

It was Zack.

"Cloud, are you there?" Zack hollered.

"I'm here," Cloud coughed again, as the particles clotted in his throat.

The outline of the lieutenant appeared, vague in the drifts and puffs of dust and smoke. His face was half-black, his uniform dirtied. His appearance was even more dishevelled than from this morning.

"Come to Sephiroth's tent," Zack instructed. "I'll see you in ten. Okay?"

Cloud nodded.

"Are you hurt?" Zack asked, feeling Cloud's arms up and down anxiously.

"No, I'm fine," Cloud said hoarsely, rubbing his throat. "Axel. My friend. He's over there. He sprained his ankle and he's knocked out."

"Let's get him," Zack said, making a fast decision. "Where is he?"

"In the creek. This way."

Cloud's tent was on the very edge of the camp. The friend he shared the tent with was Axel, a redhead with an attitude. When the ambush came, he had grabbed Cloud effortlessly and hurtled into a run, but when a grenade set itself off near them, it blew Axel clean off his feet, causing the sprain. He tumbled into a creek, and struck his head on a rock. Cloud had been lucky enough to just crash onto his knees, only grazing his knees and tearing the cloth there. Blood was dripping from the deep grazes. Zack hadn't noticed them, but Cloud wasn't about to make the lieutenant more worried and flustered than he already was. The pressure had to be intense.

Axel was still lying by the creek that was down a slope, about ten feet from the tent, his head against the rock. Cloud had wrapped a cloth around his head, in an attempt to stop the bleeding, before he'd climbed up the slope again in search of more professional help.

"You've managed to staunch the bleeding very well," Zack complimented, taking a look at Axel. "But he still needs a doctor. I'll help you lift him over the slope, but do you think you can carry him to the General's tent?"

Cloud nodded at once.

Zack slipped his arms beneath Axel's neck and the crook of his knees, easily lifting the hefty redhead from the ground. The lieutenant's boots dug into the soppy grass of the slope, and pushed himself upwards. Cloud had slung on his haversack, and dashed up the slope. He stood at the top, and helped Zack over the edge.

"I'll leave you now," Zack said, dusting his trousers. "If you need anything, give a shout."

Cloud acknowledged his words with a nod. "See you."

"See you in ten," Zack reminded him, and then sprinted off into the smoke and dust that hovered.

The blonde knelt down next to the red-haired person who was a full head-and-a-half taller than him, not to mention a little wider than him. He gallantly did his best in dragging Axel across the dirty ground, doing his best to keep his head from striking the ground. Cloud heaved and pulled, his body straining with every effort. He was just not cut out for this sort of thing, though his aim and precision with a gun was something to be proud of.

Axel weighed like a buffalo. Cloud passed the rest of the camp. Most of the cadets were safe and unharmed, and they scurrying around, helping everyone else. Some tents were still burning, and wounded were strewn across the ground. Cloud winced as he had to drag Axel over some groaning bodies.

The stench of burning was almost unbearable, and Cloud winced as more dust and smoke assaulted his eyes, and parched his throat.

General Sephiroth's tent was at the very centre of the camp, and Cloud groaned as he had to yank Axel harder than before to get him into the tent.

The silver-haired general was talking impatiently with several of his officers as Cloud entered the room.

The general seemed annoyed with his officers, but he let a smirk adorn his handsome features when the dirty, messy blonde entered the tent, heaving and groaning with the weight of the other red-haired cadet.

"Well, well, well – Cadet Strife. Remarkable indeed."

-

Leon's eyes fluttered open, and he rose out of bed.

The first thing he did was to check his phone. No missed calls.

He sighed, and dragged himself out of bed. It was dark outside. His afternoon nap had gone on much longer than he had expected. The still silence of the house told him that his parents were not home yet.

He stared at his phone.

_When are you going to call me?_

The silence was becoming increasingly deafening. Deep inside him, he hoped, waited – _wanted_ something to snap him out of his current lack of consciousness in reality. Maybe he just wanted something – or someone to break him away from the constraining fact that Cloud _might_ just call. To release him from this heavy load. To make him see reality through a logical point of view. Cloud was _busy_. He had an assignment with the revered General Sephiroth. Cloud's best friend at the camp was Zachary Fair, or Zack, and he was the second-in-command. What more could Cloud have? What was he, Leon – next to these two heroes who had eased themselves into a place in Cloud's heart? Cloud might've been promoted, given a better shot at life – maybe given a life better than anything Leon could give.

_Or maybe Cloud is dead but you don't want to believe it._

Leon violently shoved that thought from his mind. Anything but dead. Anything but dead. Cloud was not dead. He was with heroes of war – what could happen to him?

Leon sighed, and pressed his forehead against the surface of his desk, enjoying the cool that radiated from it.

Perhaps Cloud really had forgotten all about him.

-

"Are you feeling better?" Cloud asked anxiously, when Axel's eyes fluttered open, revealing a pair of raw jade-green orbs. They were interesting eyes – filled with passion and an inextinguishable fire. Cloud liked them. He liked them as much as he liked Axel.

Axel groaned, grunted – and rolled over, clutching his head and gnashing his teeth. "Like somebody whacked my head with a baseball bat," he grumbled.

Cloud giggled at that. "Actually you hit your head yourself. You fell down the slope after the grenade blew and you sprained your ankle. You struck your head on a rock. I helped you stop the bleeding, but later Lieutenant Fair carried you over the slope. I dragged you to the General's tent. Sorry if your head is still pounding from all that."

Axel chuckled. "_You_ dragged me?" Cloud pouted. "Jeez, Cloud – you deserve a medal for that. And a promotion."

"It's not my fault," Cloud said pointedly. "And I _did_ drag you here. Be grateful."

"Where are we?" Axel asked, glancing around the tent. It was small, so it couldn't be General Sephiroth's.

"The doctor looked at you," Cloud said, and gestured to the bandage around Axel's head, "and gave you that. After that Lieutenant Fair helped move you into one the tents they just fixed up. This is going to be ours. It's near the General's and the Lieutenant's. A big change we're not living on the outskirts anymore."

"Cool," Axel grinned. He sat up, rubbing his head as he groaned. "Guess I'm done for a day or so."

"Three days," Cloud corrected. "I have your medical certificate. You're excused from duties and training."

"Joy," Axel said. "What about you?"

"Um, I still have…"

"_What_? They didn't excuse _you_?" Axel shrieked. "They should be putting off duties for _everyone_, in fact!"

"First of all, some people have to keep this place clean and smooth," Cloud said dryly. "Secondly, I'm not injured."

Axel looked at Cloud up and down, examining the blonde critically. Cloud faltered a bit underneath the gaze. Axel smirked.

"Ya know, you're a real lousy person when it comes to hiding stuff," Axel said smugly.

Cloud cringed. "I'm not…injured…"

"Oh, yeah? If you'll let me see your knees then maybe I'll believe you," Axel's expression was haughty and challenging.

The blonde felt utterly defeated in his lack of response, and Axel looked conceitedly triumphant. "I'll take care of them for you," Axel announced. "My head's pounding so get me the first aid kit."

"I may as well do it myself," Cloud mumbled under his breath, as he rose to his feet.

"I heard that," Axel interrupted.

Cloud gave himself a small smile. He found the first aid kit underneath their knapsacks. He dragged the heavy thing out, and dropped it by Axel's knees. Axel sighed again, shaking his head. He opened the kit, and examined its contents.

"We're pretty desperate, aren't we?" Axel muttered. "I hear they're even running out of first aid stuff."

"Yeah," Cloud answered, his voice low. "Even food. Some of the higher-ranking officers go out hunting when it's not allowed, and I heard the General tell the Lieutenant the other day that they've over-hunted. The water in the river in drying up, too. The telecommunications device that we managed to save is still not working."

"How much longer, I wonder?" Axel murmured, taking out a miserable tube of cooling cream. Cloud folded his trousers up. Axel examined the bleeding scrapes and grimaced. "You idiot. It's disgusting. You're lucky it didn't get infected. Why didn't you let the doctor see you?"

"Because," Cloud winced when Axel attacked his injuries with the cream. "He was busy. There were a lot of people waiting to see him, and…"

"And you thought yours wasn't serious enough?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

Cloud looked away. "It really isn't serious. Besides, a guy who broke two legs was after us, so…"

"Cloud," Axel interrupted, his voice distinctly threatening.

The blonde felt defeated again. "I won't do it again," he promised.

"Somehow, I really doubt that," Axel commented.

Cloud pouted.

-

Leon scowled at the towering six-foot blonde man that stood defiantly in his way.

"Get out of my way," the brunette growled.

"Squall," said man, Seifer Almasy grinned. "Are you sure you're at the right place? I didn't think you're the one for parties."

"That's _Leon_. My brother is here, I need to get him, so get out of my way," Leon said snappishly.

"So you're here to pull him out of the fun? Aw, don't be a spoilsport," Seifer drawled amusedly.

Leon twitched with annoyance, and he felt like punching Almasy right through his face, but resisted the temptation of doing so. It might just result in a complaint to his parents, and he would be grounded for eternity. Squall Leonhart was known for his stunning anger management, so he may as well keep his record clean.

Seifer Almasy sighed in defeat when Leon didn't reply. He stepped aside. "This way, your Highness. Shall I lay out the red carpet, too?"

Leon ignored Seifer as much as he could, and stepped into the house.

He knew it belonged to Riku, but still…

It was a disaster. The lights were all out, with disco lights flashing brightly instead in different hues. Music pounded deafeningly in the background, and people were stuffed in the living room and the hall, packed like sardines as they danced and screamed to each other. Drunkards littered the staircase, and the floor everywhere was covered in Styrofoam cups. There were several puddles of beer and coke, and Leon asked himself why Sora would even be in a place like this.

He made a mental note never to allow Sora into one of these ballistic parties again.

He stuffed himself into a corner, and took out his mobile phone. Effortlessly he typed in the manner he had well memorized, and placed the phone to his ear, listening to the insistent ringing.

"Hello?" a voice came on the other side, ten seconds later.

"Sora?" Leon said cautiously.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Mom's gotten into a car accident," Leon said. Before Sora could interrupt with his high-pitched screaming, he immediately added, "It's nothing serious. She's only hurt her foot. It got trapped. Um, Dad's at home looking after her, but he wants you home now."

There were some scratchy noises on the other end of the line. Sora seemed reluctant. "All right."

"I'm in the hall," Leon said.

"I'll be there in five," Sora said. "I need to tell Riku I'm leaving first."

"Okay. Be quick."

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and pressed himself into the wall as far as he could go. The last thing he wanted was to be noticed by the partying group of youngsters in the hall.

"Hey, Leonhart."

Squall rolled his eyes as Seifer Almasy sauntered back into view.

"Get the hell out of my face, Seifer."

"Tetchy, aren't we, Leonhart?" Seifer smirked. Squall easily made out the forms of Raijin and Fujin – Seifer's two best friends on either sides of the tall blonde.

"FREAK," Fujin announced.

"Seifer's gonna kick your ass, ya know!" Raijin said confidently.

Leon rolled his eyes.

Seifer grinned. Leon could not help but detect malice in this little smirk. Seifer knew how to push Leon's buttons – Leon just hoped Seifer wouldn't push the wrong button. He was already in a bad enough mood as it was.

"Where's the little Strife boy?" Seifer taunted, and Leon's right hand began to curl itself tightly into a fist. "Ain't he back from the war yet?"

Leon looked away. He could feel his shoulders trembling.

"I thought you two were together," Seifer went on. "Looks like he dumped you, huh? _I_ heard he hasn't called anyone for years. Must be real busy out there, huh? Too busy to think about some loser Leonhart."

Leon turned away, concentrating on the ground as much as he could. He could feel the rage boiling up in his chest. He had a strong, unyielding urge to punch Seifer in the nose, and beat the bigger blonde up as much as he could.

"Or maybe," Seifer's lips curled. "He's not even around anymore."

_"Even if I don't call you back in a month's time, maybe two, or even three – or even in a year's time – you won't forget me, will you?"_

"Maybe he's…" Seifer smiled devilishly.

"DEAD," Fujin finished.

"He was a wimp, anyway, ya know?" Raijin laughed.

"I bet he's dead," Seifer taunted relentlessly. "That's why he isn't calling. The rest of the Strife family is gone, too, aren't they? Maybe they got the news that he's dead. And they didn't want to tell us. They just left."

_"You won't…give up on me, will you?"_

"Give up on him already," Seifer said, carelessly locking his hands behind his head. "He's dead and gone. He's never coming back here."

_"**I promise I won't."**_

_"Thanks, Leon!"_

Leon did not realize what he was doing until he had Seifer panting and gasping beneath him. He did not realize what he had done until he jammed his fist into Seifer's face, ignoring the rivulets of blood that streamed out of the blonde's nose. He did not feel anything – just emptiness. He felt devoid of emotion. And yet, so many different feelings were raging in him in a heated battle – anger, rage, desperation, sorrow, sadness and a sense of helplessness. He knew he could not help Cloud – hell, he didn't even know if the blonde was still alive somewhere. He could barely feel the hope anymore. Everything felt lost and distorted. He didn't even feel the arms pulling him off Seifer, he didn't hear Sora's voice in the background, nor Riku's barking at Seifer.

_"Take care. Really good care."_

_"I will. I have to go now. Bye, Leon!"_

When Sora released him, Leon unconsciously fell to his knees. His hands fisted on the ground, he pressed his forehead against the cool wood. His phone fell out of his jacket pocket, and Leon stared at it.

There weren't any missed calls.

No accumulated text messages.

No collected voice messages.

Leon ignored the stares of the rest of the occupants of the house – ignored the people who had walked over briefly to see what the commotion was about.

And he hugged himself, and let the tears fall.

All his collected despair.

All his collected desperation.

They had been stuffed inside of him, bottled so painfully for so long.

They overflowed.

_I love you, Cloud._

Leon shamelessly sobbed. He couldn't even feel Sora's arms around him.

_Come back._

-

"Cloud!" Axel shrieked.

Cloud looked up from the small fire he had created outside of their tent, and saw the redhead dashing towards him – a mixture of horror and hidden jubilee on his face. Cloud held a bottle that contained black coffee in his thin hands. He was not going to drink it – it was for Axel. He watched as the redhead continued in his lunatic manner.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, puzzled.

"We're leaving, Cloud," Axel yelled, jumping around Cloud. "We're leaving this godforsaken forest!"

_Leave Wutai?_

"It was just released," Axel said, collapsing next to Cloud. "We've amassed enough weapons from the ambushes. We're going to fight our way out of Wutai, back to Hollow Bastion. How great is that?"

Cloud dropped the bottle he was holding.

_Go home?_

_Leon._

"Really?" Cloud asked, jumping to his feet. His eyes sparkled, and he felt so much emotion in his chest. He choked on his own words. "We're going _home_?"

"Yeah," Axel said, jumping around again. "We're leaving tomorrow, at 0100 sharp. Nighttime. For the shade, y'know? But…" his spirits dampened, and he lowered himself onto the ground again. "We don't know the geography of this place. We're so remote – even Sephiroth is just making a rough guess of Hollow Bastion's general direction. Lieutenant Fair thinks it's a reasonable heading. It's better than nothing, anyway. And we don't know if we'll be ambushed along the way again."

"Everyone is leaving?" Cloud asked disbelievingly.

"No," Axel lowered his eyes to the floor. "Only the Lieutenant and the cadets and the privates."

"What? General Sephiroth and the higher-ups are staying here?" Cloud managed to get a hold of the situation. "They're using us as…as…"

"To test the ground," Axel finished for him. "To see if there are too many forces lurking around. There's a big risk either way – if all of us, and if half of us go."

Cloud looked disdainful.

"Think about it, Cloud – if we go first, we get to reach home first," Axel clapped his hands happily together. "And we can always send help to rescue the General and the rest of them."

"I guess," Cloud clasped his white hands. He stared at the fire. "Do you think…we might get ambushed again?"

"Whatever it is," Axel said in a carefree tone, lying down on his back and staring up at the sky. "We'll do it together."

Cloud smiled.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Axel said quietly.

Cloud looked up.

"Roxas wouldn't like that," Axel chortled to himself. "I made a promise to him, before I came to the army with you. I promised I wouldn't let you get hurt."

The blonde frowned. "You didn't have to do that. I'm not fragile."

"But you are," Axel interjected. "But you don't like admitting it." He sat up again abruptly, and Cloud stared at him curiously. "We'll make a promise, okay? Just you and me."

Cloud smiled sheepishly.

_I have so many promises to keep._

"We won't leave either of us behind, okay?" Axel said. "Even if we're ambushed."

Cloud smiled. "It's a promise. I won't leave you behind. Even if a thousand soldiers came after us. I won't run away without you."

"Me neither," Axel said, a big grin plastered on his face. "C'mon. Let's get some rest in the tent."

-

"Do you think he'll ever call?" Leon said softly.

It was midnight. Leon sat in the living room with Sora. Their injured mother had long since gone to bed, and their father with her. The brothers sat together – on armchairs opposite of each other, watching a movie neither of them was paying attention to. It was their way of communicating – with soft background noise of talk and music and action, while they carried out their own quiet conversation.

"I think he'll come home," Sora contradicted. "He's strong, even though he's rather girlish." He smiled to imply the joke in those words.

Leon gave a small smile.

"How long has it been?" Sora wondered. "Since he last called?"

Leon's voice was little more than a whisper. "Two years."

Sora was quiet. "Why do you think it's that way?" he finally asked.

"Because he's busy," Leon replied at once. Not dead.

Sora leaned forward, staring at his brother in the eye with an intense seriousness and maturity Leon never knew existed in the smaller brunette.

"Or maybe he can't call you. Did you ever think of that?"

-

"Cloud, run!" Zack screamed.

Cloud felt himself hurtled clean off his feet, and spiralling into the nothingness of the smoking battlefield.

"Cloud!" Axel's voice rang.

The blonde pushed himself to his feet, struggling under the weight of his knapsack. He grabbed his rifle from the ground, looked up to see three approaching soldiers. By instinct, he raised his gun and fired three rounds, doing his best not to strike the vital points of the enemy.

It had never been in his nature to kill.

He did not like violence.

With three enemy soldiers injured, Cloud strained to stand again. Zack was by his side in an instant, and helped him up, while the lieutenant fired rounds of bullets at the approaching enemy. The area was so smoky and polluted. Cloud's eyes stung, and the familiar parch began to set in Cloud's throat.

He did his best to hide it. His whole right leg was in utter agony. What the _hell_ had happened? He had sprained his right ankle rather brutally. Cloud winced, and turned away from Zack to hide his pained expression.

"Where's Axel?" Cloud choked, covering his eyes.

"You barely missed that mine," Zack said matter-of-factly, pulling them both along. "You might've ended up with a sprained ankle like Axel. Or worse. He got blown off somewhere." The lieutenant shielded his eyes from a fresh plume of smoke. "But there's no time for that. We need to run away now. We're not far from the Hollow Bastion base in Wutai. Come on! The cadets and privates managed to hijack some transport vehicles."

"No!" Cloud yanked his arm from Zack's grip. He felt like screaming as pain shot up his leg. "I can't leave Axel!"

"You can and you will, Cadet Strife!" Zack barked in his commanding tone. Cloud flinched slightly, but did not move, partly since he was stunned, and partly because he did not feel like aggravating his ankle any more. It was releasing a blaring pain that was close to knocking his senses out. "Cloud! Get a grip! Axel's probably not alive! He was close to the mine when it blew up beneath your feet!" Zack looked impatient and anxious.

"I made a promise, Lieutenant," Cloud said, his voice hushed. "I can't just _break_ it. I can't leave without Axel."

"You have to, you can and you will," Zack yelled over the boom of a massive explosion somewhere. Smoke billowed, and Cloud took his opportunity to run as far as he could from the lieutenant.

He ran off in Axel's general direction. He _had_ seen a flash of red before he so narrowly missed the range of the land mine. He couldn't just run off without Axel.

He ignored the hissing pain in his ankle. It hurt. Hell, it hurt so _much_. He ran as fast as he could, a limp in every step. His face portrayed nothing but excruciating pain. He felt an urge to throw down his knapsack, but resisted it. It contained food rations and other means of survival. It might be useful later. He bit his lip from crying out when he placed a bit too much effort on his swollen ankle.

_"We won't leave either of us behind, okay?"_

"We won't," Cloud muttered under his breath.

He stumbled over something and felt tears prick his eyes. At least he had stumbled with his left ankle. He felt sick thinking of how it would feel if it had been his right. He noted with some relief that most of the enemy soldiers had run off after the retreating Hollow Bastion forces with their transportation vehicles. Cloud kept his rifle under one arm, and glanced around warily. Smoke still billowed vigorously, and dust shot around in wisps.

"Axel!" Cloud shouted. "Axel! Where are you?"

He stumbled yet again, cursing his clumsiness while whimpering to himself quietly in pain. He searched the ground, wary of stepping over a land mine. He did not want to get blown off. He had already been left behind. The revving sound of engines told him that, along with the cluttering and thumping sounds of the ambush in hot pursuit.

"Cl…ou…d…"

"Axel!" Cloud ran in the direction of the voice. He kept his eyes trained on both the ground and ahead of him as he ran. "Axel, keep talking!"

"I'm…h-he…r…e…"

"I hear you!" Cloud shouted. In the distance, he could barely make out the form of a body slumped on the ground. Even though he was far, Cloud could easily see that the legs of the body were bent in the most unnatural position.

Cloud crashed to his knees beside Axel's body. He was careful not to injure his ankle any further.

The redhead looked bruised and mangled, but he was still breathing, still alive.

"Thank Gaia you're okay," Cloud gasped, rasping with each breath.

"Glad…you didn't…l-leave…" Axel choked and began to cough. And then he groaned. "H-hell…my legs…h…urt…like…h-hell…"

Cloud quickly examined the red-haired man's limbs. True, both of his legs were bent. It was grotesque. His knees and feet were not facing the same direction, and it was clear his knees had been turned more than 180 degrees. Cloud bit his lip, searching Axel's body for more injuries. There was nothing more, except a scraped elbow and a graze from a flying bullet on his left arm. Cloud began to contemplate possibilities of them ever getting home.

"Go to sleep, Axel," Cloud said finally. "And stop talking. I'll find something to help us."

Cloud slipped off his knapsack and climbed to his feet, ignoring the pain that flared mercilessly. He glanced around. He would need something to move Axel with.

_I need to go home._

Cloud limped forward, relieved off the heavy weight of his knapsack for once.

He began to limp aimlessly, his eyes searching the ground for danger, and also something that would mercifully help him lift Axel. He couldn't carry the man. He was already struggling underneath the weight of his knapsack. How was he going to carry Axel and his knapsack?

_I need to go home now._

Cloud paused as he passed a soldier from Wutai. He was fallen and dead, strewn on his side like a piece of black meat. But he had been carrying a big knapsack. There was a thick piece of cloth that had been rolled into a bundle and placed on top of his knapsack. But the roll had unrolled itself during the battle, and it was now laid out like another piece of meat, only it was dark green. The gears and cogs in Cloud's mind began to work, and a few minutes later he was using every last inch of his strength to drag the cloth over dead bodies to Axel's side.

And in half an hour, he was dragging Axel over more dead bodies, with a knapsack on his back, edges of the cloth tight in his hands, the weight of Axel bearing on his arms, and he pulled.

He did his best to ignore the pounding pain in his ankle. He was fairly aware that if he continued with this enormous strain he was putting on his wounded foot, he might just have a limp with him for the rest of his life.

But that didn't matter.

Nothing mattered as much as going home.

_I need to go home to Leon._

_Wait for me, Leon._

-

"You can keep staring at your phone all day," Sora sighed. "It's not going to help."

Leon scowled. "Then what do you propose I do?"

He was feeling extra bitter today.

"Check on the news," Sora suggested. "I heard there's some massive movement in the army."

Leon raised an eyebrow. He tried to look disinterested, but he was already moving towards the morning paper that sat vulnerable and open on the kitchen counter. "What movement?"

"I heard that two years ago," Sora emphasized on the number, "There was this big assignment to take out one of the biggest bases in Wutai. Apparently they succeeded, but were ambushed later. The main force never contacted this detached force again, because apparently the poor guys had lost all their telecommunications devices in the ambush. Sadly, _General Sephiroth_ and _Lieutenant Zachary Fair_, the second-in-command of the whole army were both in the assignment, and they've been lost to the world for two years. The army hushed up the big loss – the media weren't allowed in on the secret. But just yesterday half of this lost group of people arrived at the Hollow Bastion base situated in Wutai. This half consisted of cadets, privates and Lieutenant Zachary Fair. The Lieutenant asked for assistance to fetch the rest of the force from some rural area where they'd be living in for two years. They were constantly ambushed, thus unable to gather their bearings and reach home. Full details are in the newspaper article. Read it."

Leon was already reading the article as if his life depended on it.

-

_MISSING SOLDIERS RETURN AS HEROES_

_Two years ago, the Army of Hollow Bastion proposed an assignment. They wanted to eliminate one of the greatest bases in Wutai, and they planned to strike from the Hollow Bastion base situated in Wutai._

_A team of 500 men were rounded up for this purpose. Their ranks ranged from cadets, to privates, to captains and the most outstanding of all – the General and his second-in-command. General Sephiroth and Lieutenant Zachary Fair, both revered heroes of this war were to go on this important assignment, as well._

_After succeeding in destroying the targeted base, the soldiers attempted to return to base in victory, but they were severely and thoroughly ambushed by a detached Wutai force much greater than their own. Their numbers were reduced great to 300 or so, but they managed to make camp in a rural area that they did not know of. They could not get a hold of their location, and they were ambushed daily by Wutai forces. But still this detached Hollow Bastion force did what they could to protect themselves. They fought like this for two years. They were cut off from the rest of the world, as almost all their telecommunications devices had been destroyed. Only one remained, and it was hopelessly broken. They had to fight each second to survive._

_The rest of the army kept this a secret, fearing the blow it would have on the citizens of Hollow Bastion. This decision of theirs is questionable and relatively controversial, but they had noble intentions. That can be ascertained._

_Yesterday, at 12.27pm, half of this detached force stumbled back into the Hollow Bastion base in Wutai. They were led by Lieutenant Zachary Fair. 152 of them of the 300 had left their camp, and only 103 of them managed to make it back to base. They had been ambushed along the way. Lieutenant Zachary Fair confirmed that the remaining soldiers were still back at the camp, and forces from the base have been sent to retrieve them._

_These 103 men, including Lieutenant Zachary Fair, are currently at the base in Wutai, but they will move back to Hollow Bastion for a well-deserved rest tomorrow. General Sephiroth and the rest of the detached force will join them soon._

_The number of deaths is uncountable, and almost 50 men are reported to be MIA. The army will inform the families of the deceased and MIA of the situation, and all funeral and medical costs will be covered._

-

Leon looked up from the paper.

Sora was giving a look that was blended with seriousness and triumph.

"This is…for real?" Leon's voice was small.

Sora nodded, in a rather grave manner. "Cloud _might_ just be on his way back to Hollow Bastion. He's a cadet, right?"

Leon nodded, his mind still in a daze.

"We should go to Aerith's church," Sora said solemnly. "Now."

"Yeah."

-

"Axel…it's just a bit longer…" Cloud bit his lip harder as he placed pressure on his injured foot. His bottom lip had long since split, and blood was spilling out of the corners of his mouth. His ankle was too stubborn to numb, and with each step it burned with unbearable pain. But still he walked, and still he lugged Axel behind him, and carried the weight of his knapsack.

Of course Axel didn't hear him. The redhead had been drifting in and out of unconsciousness since they left the deserted battlefield. They had been walking for a whole day now – and Cloud had no idea where they were. The only bearings he had was the general direction in which Zack and the rest of the Wutaian officers had headed off to, and the mangled state of the ground that told of many jeeps and lots of feet. Cloud's muscles roared with a passion, his back strained beneath the weight of his knapsack, his arms felt stretched from dragging the mattress at such an uncomfortable angle and worst of all – his ankle screamed bloody murder.

Cloud felt like screaming bloody murder, too.

_Won't somebody come and help us!_

Cloud want to shout, scream and jump around. He could barely contain his frustration. Wasn't it enough he was separated from Leon, with no way to communicate with the brunette, to at least let him know that he, Cloud – was alive? For how much longer, that was another question, but still…and it had been two forsaken years since he heard Leon's warm and comforting voice rasping from the other end of the line.

And not just Leon.

It had been two years since he could write a letter to his family. What were they told of him? Did the army tell them that he was dead? Or MIA? Or did they simply not tell them anything? Did his family think he had forgotten about him? Did Leon think he had forgotten about him? What about Roxas?

Cloud could barely make out the face of his younger brother. Still, he managed to piece together untidy and mussed blonde hair somewhat identical to his own, and a pair of vibrant, upbeat blue eyes that always managed to get Cloud out of dampened spirits. It was probably those eyes that had so effortlessly captured Axel's heart. Cloud thought of Leon's eyes. They were a stormy grey-blue, so intense and steely that it was not possible for another human being to have the same pair as Leon. Nothing would ever come close.

Cloud looked up at the sky, his heart wrecked with unimaginable pain.

_Am I to be forgotten by everybody?_

_And cast away from your heart, Leon?_

-

Zack slammed his fist into the wall. General Sephiroth sighed heavily behind him.

Instead of leaving with the rest of the soldiers back to Hollow Bastion, Zack had vehemently chosen to remain in Wutai. Sephiroth was not going anywhere without his second-in-command, so he had remained in Wutai as well. Things had settled down a bit. Most of the enemy had backed off for the moment, and Hollow Bastion was too busy celebrating the return of so many lost soldiers

"It's my damn fault," Zack said bitterly through gritted teeth. He could feel the tears at the back of his eyes. The despair and grief threatened to swallow him whole. "I should never have…"

"He shouldn't even be in the army," Sephiroth interrupted smoothly, but his voice was quiet. "The boy should have stayed home. I knew it from the start."

"And now he's still somewhere out there – alone," Zack pressed his forehead against the wall. "How the hell is he going to survive? He can barely carry his pack and run with a rifle at the same time…how the bloody forsaken _hell_ is going to survive out there by himself? And possibly with some injured friend with broken limbs!"

"I wonder," Sephiroth murmured.

Zack slammed his fist into the wall again. "I should never have left him. I should have dragged him to one of the jeeps."

"It's over, Zack," Sephiroth did not feel a yearning need to aggravate his second-in-command and only friend with the usage of his full name. "We should just go back to Hollow Bastion and try to forget…everything that's happened these two years. And forget Cloud. It'll hurt less then."

"Are you asking me to forget _Cloud_?" Zack hissed. "The cadet I trained by _myself_ for the first time in _ages_? To hell with your lack of sentimentality, Sephiroth! I'm not going anywhere, until I get firm evidence about Cloud! It's either he walks in here, or they drag his dead or wounded body in here! And if you're so desperate to return to your luxurious office, you can do it by yourself!"

"Zack," Sephiroth said, and in a one fleeting moment he was behind Zack, with arms wrapped around the black-haired lieutenant from behind. "I know this is hard on you. It's hard on all of us. We knew Cloud. Maybe we can't forget him. But once we know if he's alive or dead…we'll just…just do what we do, okay?"

Zack slid down to his knees, and Sephiroth lowered himself slowly. The black-haired man wrapped his arms around himself and began to sob. Sephiroth did what he could in comforting the other, but to no avail. Zack had punched another dent into the wall, and was practically crushing his own head against the wall. Sephiroth gently tried to pull him away, but Zack fought the General with vigour. Sephiroth knew neither of them wanted to give up on Cloud, but the blonde simply didn't have any physical ability. When a cadet can barely survive through gym sessions, you start to wonder if he could survive on his own, in the wild and possibly taking care of an injured friend. Cloud was strong, but Sephiroth wondered if he could be that strong.

"It's not fair…" Zack grated out, his teeth still clenched, his hands in curled fists. "He didn't deserve this."

"Nobody deserves this," Sephiroth said softly. "Not you. Not Cloud."

"Especially not Cloud," Zack corrected in between his sobs. "Not when he has that kind of laugh…that kind of voice…that kind of _smile_…"

The cheery wide smile of the blonde cadet flashed through Sephiroth's mind for a moment, and he felt pain stab his heart. That smile could make Sephiroth's stress dissipate in a sub-second – that smile brought a smile to Zack's distressed face. It was that smile that broke through the barriers of Sephiroth's icy heart and warmed whatever was beneath, so that he could be with Zack in a more open manner. Sephiroth leant against Zack's body, burying his nose into the lieutenant's collarbone. He could feel it now. So strongly. He could feel the pain of losing Cloud Strife, the smallest cadet in the camp, but with the biggest heart.

"Yeah. Definitely not his smile."

-

Aerith smiled sympathetically. "Have you gotten any contact from Cloud yet?"

Leon shook his head dismally. "Not yet."

"It's been almost four days," Sora said worriedly. "Most of the soldiers from Wutai have been moved back to Hollow Bastion. Only the second-in-command and the General are still staying in Wutai."

"Why, I wonder?" Aerith wondered thoughtfully. "And why isn't Cloud back?"

"His family moved away," Sora explained. "Maybe he went back to them first. He might've been injured. We don't know. We don't get the memo – we're not his family. It's not registered."

"But you want to know," Aerith pointed out. "Give Roxas a call. I'm sure he won't mind."

"Roxas?" Sora shook his head. "We don't have his the number of his new house, and he changed his phone."

"Phone book," Aerith suggested.

"We don't know where he moved to," Leon said quietly.

Aerith looked annoyed. "Why didn't he tell us anything?"

"It was his parents' idea," Sora explained. "Roxas told me before he left. His parents wanted to leave the neighbourhood for good, and be forgotten for good."

"Cloud's missing again," Leon's voice was just barely audible.

_Will he ever come home?_

-

"Get a bloody stretcher!"

"Get the damn doctor, you stupid cadet!"

"Hurry up!"

"Find the Lieutenant! Or the General! Either one!"

"What's going on here?" Zack demanded, stepping out of the administrative building of the base. People were scurrying about the front of the building, and Zack could see the reason for commotion was somewhere in the centre, where privates and cadets were bent over something. An officer ran up to Zack, and immediately the lieutenant demanded the problem.

"Sir – there are two cadets, they just arrived out of nowhere," the officer's voice was high and panicked.

Zack's eyes widened. "From where?"

"We don't know," the officer said. "But they've obviously been travelling for a bit…"

Zack was already running to the centre of the commotion. He shoved cadets aside, and pushed his ex-commanding officer blatantly out of the way.

Zack's breath hitched in his throat at what he saw, and everything became deadly quiet, as the cadets hushed themselves up, and the privates moved out of the way, and the corporals and captains knowingly kept quiet.

The somewhat mutilated body of a red-haired man lay sprawled on a blood-caked, filthy and horribly dusty green mattress. The man's legs were obviously broken – seeing as they were bent in the most bizarrely grotesque fashion. His face was scrunched in pain, and he was covered in a sheen of sweat. His shallow pants were still audible. Zack noticed his hands were clutching tightly onto the mattress. He was in pain, and Zack noticed that a graze on the elbow and another graze from a bullet were both starting to get infected.

And the redhead's saviour lay curled into a tiny ball on his side, trying to numb the pain. The shocking sun-bleached blonde hair caked here and then with spots of blood was enough to tell Zack who this person was. Zack didn't need to look into those brilliant, vivid blue eyes to tell. The blonde's legs were shaking, his whole body trembling with pain. The lieutenant noticed that the blonde's ankle was horribly swollen. Zack gulped, and tried not to think if this person would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.

"Find Dr Kadowaki6," Zack said, lowering himself onto his knees, to draw the blonde on his lap. A loud whimper came in protest, and Zack winced again at the sight of his ankle. "And tell her to ready everything and everyone in the infirmary. Some of you – you can start moving that one on the mattress to the infirmary. I'll carry this one to the infirmary myself. I want General Sephiroth informed and tell him to meet me in the infirmary."

At once, people started to disperse. Several soldiers crowded around the tattered mattress, and began to lift it up and carry it away.

"Cloud," Zack whispered, gently shaking the blonde. "Cloud…?"

Cloud coughed and whimpered, twisting in Zack's arms, and then moaning in pain when his ankle was moved. Slowly, his dull, pained blue eyes opened, and Zack felt a stab of pain. Cloud's whimpers continued, and so did his weak coughs.

"Zack…" he whispered, his voice scratchy and hoarse. "Zack…"

"Yeah, it's me," Zack bit back his tears, and offered a weak smile. "You're safe now."

"Zack…A…xel…" Cloud shut his eyes in pain.

"Axel is all right now," Zack said, attempting to be assuring. "They just took him to the infirmary. Cloud, save your energy…I'll carry you to the infirmary first. Let the doctor work on you. We'll talk afterwards."

The blonde nodded weakly, and fell unconscious again. Zack slipped his arms below the blonde's neck and the crook of his knees, trying hard not to aggravate the swollen ankle. He cradled the blonde close to his chest, and began the strangely extra tedious journey to the infirmary.

-

"He did a good job," Sephiroth said, his voice strangled. "In fact, I'm surprised he even managed to save himself, much less the Axel boy."

"They shared a tent," Zack explained. "I guess that's why Cloud refused to leave."

"Or maybe there's more to it," Sephiroth commented. "Anyway, I don't really care now. What matters most is that they're both safe. Axel might be wheelchair-bound for a year or so. He'll be sent home for recuperation, right?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah. They've already endorsed it."

"And what about Cloud?"

"Dr Kadowaki says it would be a lot easier if he'd just sprained his ankle," Zack sighed. "But the fact of the matter is that he sprained his ankle _and_ then proceeded to drag Axel and carry a fat knapsack over a couple of miles to reach here."

"Does that mean he cannot walk?"

"He'll be limping around forever," Zack clenched his fist. "And all because I couldn't help him."

"We've been through this, Zack. It was not your fault."

"It sure as hell was. Why did I run away?"

"You didn't run away," Sephiroth interjected. "He ran from you."

"Will he get to go home?" Zack asked.

Sephiroth shook his head. "I don't know. That's for that damned Rufus Shinra7 to decide."

"Rufus Shinra? I thought it was his father."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "You've obviously not been keeping up with military news for a bit. Recently, Rufus Shinra took over because his father retired. I guess that's not a bad thing for us. Rufus Shinra has more heart than his father. Maybe he'll let Cloud go home."

The black-haired lieutenant scowled, and folded his arms in a challenging manner. "Oh, yeah? I'll bet you ten bucks that Rufus Shinra will offer the kid any reward except to go home."

-

Cloud opened his eyes, wincing as the bright light penetrated his orbs. Fighting an urge to whimper, he pushed himself up from the comfortable bed he was lying on with his elbows.

"Ah, you mustn't do that," a feminine, kindly voice said.

Cloud could barely feel his right leg. It was completely numb.

Alarmed, he examined his surroundings. He was in a sterile white room that smelt almost poisonously of medicine. The cot he was in was spotless and white, clean and smelling of detergent. It didn't take a fool to realize that he was in the infirmary of the Hollow Bastion base in Wutai. On one side of his cot sat an elderly-looking woman on a swivel chair. She had black hair and kind eyes and she was smiling at him. On her lap she balanced a clipboard. Cloud read off her nametag – Dr Kadowaki.

"You've hurt yourself quite badly, young man," she said. It sounded almost like a comment. "It's best to rest up good and well, before you go off shooting Wutai soldiers again."

Cloud pushed the blanket off his body with one hand. His right foot was almost lost in a huge clump of bandages. He looked at his hands – both of them had been bandaged lightly between his fingers and around his wrist and palm. Had he hurt himself there?

"You scratched yourself quite badly," Dr Kadowaki said, as if reading his thoughts. "When you were fighting through the vegetation of the forest on your way here."

Cloud nodded in acknowledgment. A tight bandage went around his head, though his spiky blonde hair still protruded in several directions, and the stray locks still fell over his eyes, and on the sides of his face.

"There was a cut on the back of your head, too," Dr Kadowaki supplied for him again. "It was pretty serious. Your ankle – well, I know it's a little mummified, but…"

"Thank you," Cloud said abruptly.

Dr Kadowaki smiled. "Anytime, Mr Strife. By the way, Lieutenant Fair and General Sephiroth are asking to see you. I know they're the first and second-in-command, but the infirmary is my turf. I will not allow people to visit my patients until the patients themselves allow it. Of course this only applies if you're not in a coma. The Lieutenant is very worried about you."

"Where's Axel?" Cloud asked randomly, looking around.

"The red-haired boy?"

"Yes."

"Oh, he's in the other ward," Dr Kadowaki answered. "He's resting. Unlike you, he didn't strain his injuries so he's going to be alright, though he might be in a wheelchair for a while."

Cloud clenched his fists.

_I failed Roxas._

"Am I going to let the Lieutenant in?" Dr Kadowaki inquired.

"That's fine," Cloud said, looking away from the doctor.

Dr Kadowaki rose to her feet, and walked over to the door. She opened it, and at once Zack flew into the room like a cannon ball of some sort, and flung his arms around Cloud. The blonde was close to suffocating, when the lieutenant crushed him against his chest.

"You're okay," Zack shrieked. "Thank Gaia you're okay!"

"I'll leave you guys now," Dr Kadowaki said, leaving the room.

"Thank goodness you're fine now, Cloud," Sephiroth's baritone voice said. Cloud peered over Zack's shoulder to see the silver-haired general standing aloofly by his cot, smiling in a warm way – something Cloud had never seen before.

"We thought you were dead!" Zack was back to screaming. He shook Cloud by the shoulders vigorously, and the blonde thought his head might roll off. "It's been five days, and you're…you're…you're bloody _alive_! Thank Gaia, thank Gaia, thank Gaia…"

"I'm not a teddy bear, Zack," Cloud said, attempting to push the overreacting lieutenant off. "Let go of me."

"Zack, let the boy go," Sephiroth chortled. "He looks suffocated."

Zack mercifully released Cloud, who took in great gulps of air. The blonde recovered in seconds, and he was looking at Zack again. He averted his gaze in shame.

"I'm sorry I disobeyed you before, Zack…"

The lieutenant was shaking Cloud again.

"The _hell_ with that! I'm sorry that _I_ didn't follow you. What in Gaia's name were you put through? Hell, you were running about with a sprained ankle, and dragging Axel along," the lieutenant shook his head in dismay. "I'm really sorry, Cloud. I didn't mean for it to happen this way. After you ran off…I just made for one of the jeeps and left…"

"No, it's alright," Cloud said, offering a small smile. "You had to save yourself. I was the one who went back for Axel. I disobeyed you."

"No, you didn't disobey him," Sephiroth interrupted. "You were being selfless. It's not a bad thing to care for someone. If you hadn't gone back, Axel wouldn't be alive."

_And I would've failed Roxas even more, except that this time I would fail Axel, too._

"Oh, yeah – that reminds me," Zack scratched the back of his head. "Rufus Shinra wants to meet you."

Cloud's jaw went slack. "_Rufus Shinra_?"

"The big shot, the number one military man of the army – yeah, him," Zack said off-handily. "In fact, he's in Sephiroth's office now, waiting for you to receive him."

"Which, I whole-heartedly suggest you do now," Sephiroth said helpfully. "He's been waiting for over two hours."

Cloud dumbly nodded, and Sephiroth left the room to fetch Rufus Shinra.

"Zack?" Cloud asked softly, when the general left.

"Yeah, Cloud?" Zack plopped down onto a seat next to the cot.

"Will they let me go home?"

Zack breathed deeply, and shook his head. "I'm not sure, Cloud. And to be truthful…it's highly unlikely. You've just proven to them that you're a great asset to the army. And unlike Axel, your injuries are not massive…"

Cloud bit his lip and nodded. "I understand."

"I'm sorry, Cloud."

"Me too, Zack."

_I'm sorry, Leon._

_I can't come home yet._

-

"I sincerely offer you any reward that you request," Rufus Shinra declared. Then, he added quietly, "Though I cannot allow you to go home. That's the only thing."

Cloud looked at the tall man standing by his cot. This man was Rufus Shinra – with a mop of yellow hair and a pair of alert, intelligent eyes. This man was offering him anything he _could_ ask for that he _could_ give, except that the one thing Cloud _wanted_ and but Rufus Shinra just did not _want_ to give it.

Cloud wanted, more than anything, just to go home.

_Why can't anyone understand that?_

Cloud balled his sheets into one hand.

_I just want to see Leon again._

_Is that wrong?_

"Cloud?" Rufus was puzzled by the blonde's silence. Zack and Sephiroth looked away.

Before he knew it, the tears were streaming down Cloud's pale cheeks, as he sobbed. After so much, after he had fought his way here, they could not give him the one thing he wanted?

They could not let him go home?

He just wanted to go home, for Gaia's sake.

Was that wrong? That he wanted to see his family, his brother, his friends, and Leon?

"If…" Cloud choked on his sobs. "You can't let me go home…that's fine…but Mr Shinra…could you…let me…make a phone call?"

-

His phone was vibrating. Leon stared at the awkward number shone on the screen, and picked it up.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"…Le…on…?"

Chills ran up Leon's spine, and his heart began to pump faster. He could feel the adrenaline in his veins, he felt like jumping with joy, with relief – but he held it back.

"…Cloud?"

"Yes. It's me."

Leon jumped off his bed, and bit his lip. "It's really…you?"

"Yes. Leon, I'm so sorry…"

The puzzled brunette sat down on his bedroom floor. "Why?"

"I…I…that's to say, we…we got ambushed after the assignment, and…"

"I know, I read the news," Leon interjected. "But who cares! I thought you were _dead_, Cloud. I…"

"No…the fact is…I didn't go with the rest of the first group that left the camp…" Leon was sure he heard crying on the other end of the line. "I…I moved further away from you. I didn't know why – but, but…I didn't go with them. I went back…for a friend…for Axel…"

_Axel?_

_Roxas._

"And…and…I can't go home, Leon," Cloud cried, each sob a wrench to Leon's heart. "If I hadn't gone back…if I'd just gone along with the crowd…I would be home with you now…but, I…I just couldn't _do_ it. I'm so sorry, Leon…I really…am…"

"Shh," Leon whispered. How he wished he could be with Cloud, that he could comfort the small blonde who was somewhere in Wutai, prepared to go out and fight again. The frustration and agony was getting too much to bear, but for the sake of the fragile boy on the other end of line, Leon kept his cool. "It's not your fault. I don't blame you for it. It's okay. It's okay, Cloud…I'm don't really care about that…I don't care…I really wished they would let you come home…but it's okay…at least you called…" Leon smiled. "At least I know you're not dead. At least I know that's you're still out there, somewhere…I'm waiting for you, Cloud…I'll wait forever, if I have to."

"Leon…" Cloud choked on his violent sobs. "I promise…I promise to come home…as soon as I can…I _want_ to go home, Leon, but they…"

"Shh. I know. I want you home, too…I want to see you again…more than anything…to hear your laughter…to see your smiling face…but if this is the only thing we can have together…I'll still cherish it…"

"Even if it's just a call…?"

"Even if it's just a call. I don't care, Cloud…just so long as I can be with you in some way…even if it's just by a call…"

"T-thank you, Leon…"

"Cloud, stop crying," Leon whispered gently. "It's alright now."

"Leon, I was so _scared_…" Cloud's voice was hushed, low – hurt. "I thought…it's been so long…I thought everyone forgot about me…I thought _you_ forgot about me…I don't know…I kept telling myself you didn't…I tried to believe that…but it was so hard…and when every day passed…I was more convinced you'd forgotten…"

"I will never forget you, Cloud. It's impossible."

There was a sniffle on the other end. "Why's that?"

"Because…" Leon swallowed, and smiled to himself, as a trail of tears began to form. "I love you. More than anything."

"Leon…thank you so much…I love you…too…"

"You sound tired…you should get some rest," Leon suggested gently. "I'm sure…they'll let us talk again."

Another sniffle. "Okay…"

"I love you, Leon…"

"I love you, too. Bye."

"Bye, Leon…I love you…"

_I love you very, very much, Cloud._

-

Zack pulled away from the machine, as the last line had been spoken.

_"Bye, Leon…I love you…"_

Sephiroth turned away, obviously to hide his tears. He faced the wall and deliberately refused to turn around. Rufus Shinra stood motionless, his face unreadable. Zack touched his own cheek, and realized cold tears had fallen.

Zack shook his head.

"Let him go home, Rufus."

-

-

1 _Rinoa Heartilly:_ From FFVIII. She's a sorceress, and Squall Leonhart's supposed love interest in that particular game. Personally, I don't like her much. X) I added her in, for no reason, really. Just to start the story, I suppose.

2 _Maleficient:_ From Kingdom Hearts/Kingdom Hearts II. I wonder why I even bother to explain her…but for those of you who don't know…she's sort of, like the bad guy, but in Kingdom Hearts II she's kinda of nice, I guess – helping Sora occasionally and stuff like that. But I still don't like her, that's why I made her Cloud's bully. : I put her in the story because my fingers were itchy, and I couldn't think of any other way to bring Zack in that shows the extent of his high status.

3 _Zachary Fair/Zack Fair:_ From FFVII. He's Cloud's best friend in FFVII, and he even dies protecting Cloud. Sad, right? T.T it's really sad…anyway, he's also one of Cloud's good friends in the army in this story. .

4 _Mr Shinra:_ From FFVII. He's Mr Shinra, ex-overall in charge of the army. Heck care. Anyway, he was the overall in charge of the army until his beloved son took over. He doesn't even appear in this story, does he? They only mention him. Oh, yeah – you might not notice it, but Maleficient is as dumb as Zack, since she doesn't remember that Rufus Shinra took over his father. Just a little detail I couldn't resist putting in. ."

5 _Sephiroth:_ From FFVII. He's the antagonist in FFVII, just in case you don't know. He's like, obsessed with Cloud or something… XD no offence…he's a goody-goody guy in this fic, though…and with a high post in the army, as expected…

6 _Dr Kadowaki:_ From FFVIII. She's a doctor at Balamb Garden in FFVIII. Doctor. Get it? _Doctor_. Like, duh – that's why she's working in the infirmary. I couldn't think of any other doctor, though at first I thought of putting Aerith as the doctor, but then my idea of a doctor usually has more kick, y'know…more authority…? Anyway, Dr Kadowaki sorta fits this role. ;)

7 _Rufus Shinra:_ From FFVII. Son of Mr Shinra, and overall in charge of the army.

-

I'm not really expectin' lots of reviews, as I will say again. This is my first attempt at Kingdom Hearts, after all…

Hmm, please let me know if this story is too lengthy…I'll keep in mind not to write such a long oneshot in future…and if I have any grammatical mistakes that I did not edit out, I really apologize for those…and if I get my facts wrong occasionally – it's hard to write in alternate universe – I'm also sorry about those. I've edited the story once, so I'm not sure if there are any other mistakes I've missed out and I'm too lazy to go through it again…

Okay, then!

Read and Review!

Ja!


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